The African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has described the Presidency’s latest statement attacking his person as further proof that the President Bola Tinubu’s administration has chosen diversion over disclosure and insults over accountability.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said it was telling that the Presidency devoted several paragraphs to personal attacks without addressing the fundamental issues that continue to generate legitimate public interest.
He said: “When governments abandon facts for insults and substitute evidence with abuse, they unwittingly admit that they have run out of convincing answers. Nigerians expected clarification. What they received instead was a barrage of name-calling and political invective.”
Atiku noted that raising questions about matters contained in public records should never be misconstrued as an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“No one has reported Nigeria to anyone. Nigeria is not on trial. The issue concerns questions arising from publicly available records relating to the occupant of the nation’s highest office. Those records were not created by the opposition, the ADC, or any political actor. Attempting to silence legitimate public inquiry by wrapping oneself in the national flag does not answer the questions before the country.”
The former Vice President said it was particularly unfortunate that the Presidency chose to revive old political allegations against him instead of responding directly to the issues it was confronted with.
“Nigerians can distinguish between political mudslinging and factual responses. Personal attacks do not erase public records, nor do
